Join the Summer Math Adventure!

Summer reading programs have a longstanding history in schools and libraries, but how can libraries support students’ engagement with mathematics all year long? To keep students engaged in mathematical thinking throughout the summer, the

Wisconsin Mathematics Council (WMC) brought together a group of Wisconsin math educators in 2022 to create the Summer Math Adventure program for preK - 5th grade students and their families.

 

WMC wants to ensure that all children experience the wonder, joy, and beauty of mathematics in school and beyond. Students and families participating in the Summer Math Adventure build number sense and explore mathematics in the world around them through authentic activities related to five categories: around the home, outdoors, the arts, books, and games and puzzles.

 

The program is based on a “bingo board” of math activities for three age groups: PreK, Kindergarten - Grade 2, and Grades 3 - 5. A digital version of the activity sheets and support documents is hosted on the WMC website. A printable version is also available. The Summer Math Adventure was piloted in a few Wisconsin communities during the summer of 2022 and is ready for state-wide roll out in summer of 2023.

 

In coordination with the WI Department of Public Instruction (DPI), WMC has plans to promote the Summer Math Adventure alongside DPI’s Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP). Information about CSLP can be found at the CSLP website. WMC is happy to make the Summer Math Adventure FREE to all Wisconsin libraries. Through the generosity of the Wisconsin Mathematics Education Foundation we are able to offer grants to libraries to support this program.

 

To become a participating library, complete the brief interest form at this link.

 

This message is brought to you through the collaboration of Wisconsin Educational Media & Technology Association (WEMTA), Wisconsin Library Association (WLA), and the DPI.

New ALSC Toolkit on Summer Learning

Image from ALSC Learning Beyond Toolkit

Recently, ALSC debuted a new and helpful toolkit entitled: Learning Beyond: 21st Century Summer and Out-of-School Time Toolkit. Created by ALSC's Summer and Out-of-School Time Task Force, this toolkit features .evidence-based approaches to developing worthwhile programs and services for youth. 

In a recent ALSC blog post, ALSC's School Age Services and Programs COmmittee wrote about the toolkit:

"The Toolkit has eight sections that include: 

• Summer in the 21st Century & the Critical Skills of a 21st Century Learner
• Building Equity 
• Co-designing Effective Program
• Working Together/Partnership
• Evaluating Success
• Role of Reflection in Learning
• Online & Digital Programming
• Positive Youth Development Framework for providing quality programs

Each section contains a narrative overview, five facts to know, a resource list, and a case study from a public library to see the practical application of this work. 

One of the eight sections is written by Wisconsin's own Sue Abrahamson of the Waupaca Public Library!

You can read more about the toolkit here. (ALSC Blog. Learning Beyond: 21st Century Summer and Out-of-School Time Toolkit. March 26, 2022.)

You can download the toolkit here.

Friday FAQs with Tessa 5/14/21

Dear Library Staff Serving Youth, 

Happy Friday! Here is the latest installment of Friday FAQs for Youth Services. The slides used in the recording are attached as a PDF. Also, the FAQ Friday form is open for your input anytime. FAQs are published on the second Friday of each month. 

              FAQ Friday 5/14/2021 recording (6:28) https://youtu.be/5roAJ96Yzzo 

FAQ Friday for Youth Services 2021 Form https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfiPJ3WfahXaj5y3RchBsVZdORDUvE7J3c_LygTWiJuv9yqOg/viewform?usp=sf_link

 

For FAQ archives, visit the Youth Services Section blog

Resources related to this week’s topics

• Summer Planning Suggestions from the Youth Services Section blog
• Ultimately Ultimate Summer Reading Tips - 2021Style
• Outdoor Storytime Know-How
• (Serving Teens) Making Lemonade Out of Lemons - Part 1
• (Serving Teens) Making Lemonade out of Lemons -Part 2

• Inside the CCBC (WAPL session recording) https://mediaspace.wisc.edu/media/Inside+the+CCBC/1_0adfknzh
• 2021 CLEL (Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy) Conference

Searching for presenters for the Leadership Academy on October 7 and the conference on October 8. Please submit your proposal here by June 4: https://forms.gle/KoRnojuxtiQwfq1EA

• National Summer Learning Association (NSLA) Cultural Crossroads: Exploring the important intersection of summer program training & design with the critical need to address race, equity, and inclusion webinar recording: https://youtu.be/26FZ4cuGNgA.
• From Diversity to inclusion: How to audit your collection and why recording from the Connecticut State Library. Slides and all accompanying materials can be found on the Inclusive Collections page.  

 

Have a restful weekend,

 

Tessa Michaelson Schmidt (she/her/hers)

Youth and Inclusive Services Public Library Consultant

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction | Library Services

(608) 267-5077 Tessa.Schmidt@dpi.wi.gov

Friday FAQs with Tessa Michaelson Schmidt

• 6/18/21 recording

• 5/14/21 recording
• 4/9/21 recording
• 3/12/21 recording
• 2/12/21 recording
• 1/15/21 recording
• 12/11/20 recording
• 11/13/20 recording
• 10/9/20 recording
• 9/11/20 recording
• 8/14/20 recording
• 7/31/20 recording
• 7/17/20 recording
• 7/10/20 recording
• 6/26/20 recording
• 6/19/20 recording
• 6/11/20 recording
• 6/5/20 recording
• 5/29/20 recording
• 5/22/20 recording
• 5/15/20 recording
• 5/8/20 recording
• 5/1/20 recording
• 4/24/20 recording
• 4/17/20 recording
• 4/10/20 recording   

Is Summer Learning Loss Real?

Once we put our latest, often hyper-intensive, summer library programs to bed and have begun our fall programs, it's tempting to just zone out from anything that smacks of summer or SLP. It's far in the future, right?

But if you have a bit of bandwidth, an interesting recent article on the EducationNext website asks some important questions about the 40 year old research that has informed much of school's,  library's and out-of-school organization's thinking about why summer learning is important and impactful.  In doing research and examining the now classic results of earlier research, the author, an associate professor in the LBJ School of Public Affairs, introduces some important questions for us.

Food for thought....

Thanks to Tasha Saecker at Waking Brain Cells for linking to the article.

Timeless Top 10 Research-based Tips on Summer Reading Programs

With all the thought and time that library staff serving youth put into the Summer Library/Learning/Reading Program, it's nice to visit why and how we do what we do each year. Here's a brief summary of Top Ten Tips for Librarians for Library Reading Programs compiled by Tessa Michaelson-Schmidt, Youth and Inclusive Services Public Library Consultant for the WI Department of Public Instruction, some years ago now. These timeless tips are worth revisiting anytime of year.

Summer Learning for Library Staff Serving Youth

There's still a chance to sign up for the UW iSchool's course "Creating the Summer Library Program of Your Dreams" co-taught by two of YSS's amazing members, Marge Loch-Wouters and Sue Abrahamson.

Utilizing their experience and examining summer learning through various lenses, this course is an opportunity to learn from them and from your peers throughout the nation. Summer is THE season in the library and there's much to consider when planning and evaluating your summer library program.

The first session of this course filled so quickly that the iSchool added a second session and seats are still available. For more information or to register, visit the Program at a Glance page. This session runs from March 11 - April 7.

Free ALSC Webinar: Making the Move from Summer Reading to Summer Learning

Thursday, January 17

1:00pm

Summer is a critical time for children, and according to research from the National Summer Learning Association, children can lose up to 3 months of their school year learning during this time. Libraries have long embraced their role in the summer learning landscape, and more and more are adding in critical out of school time learning that align to 21st Century Learning Skills, Common Core State Standards or even Next Generation Science Standards. Additionally, NSLA has embraced libraries as valuable community hubs of summer learning and this webinar will talk about the ways in which NSLA can support libraries in the summertime. Participants will gain an awareness of best practices in making the shift from summer reading to summer learning and examine outcomes based evaluation as a way to measure program success and communicate their programs’ impact.

Register HERE.

Guest Post: Summer Writing

Author: Sue Abrahamson, Children's Librarian, Waupaca Area Public Library

We all know the impact of the summer slide as it pertains to reading. Statistics show that math and writing suffer, too. In Waupaca, we are helping kids keep their writing skills sharp by offering a Secret Pen Pal Program. Not knowing what to expect we are blown away by the 160 children participating.

They sign up to be a secret pen pal. We give them a Library P. O. Box # and the number of a Library P. O. Box to write to. (Non-letter-writers are encouraged to draw pictures.)  We ask that they commit to sending their secret pen pal at least 3 letters over two months.

Staff has written postcards to all the kids from their vacations to add to the mail.  We did need to make a few phone calls to remind some families of their commitment. (Usually they were out of town.)  We will have a reveal party later this month so kids can find out who their Secret Pen Pal was this summer.

Parents have been excited to see their kids interested in writing and reading the letters.  They have asked us to continue it again next summer.  Email me at sabraham@mail.owls.lib.wi.us if you have questions or need more information.

Making Summer Fun

The Urban Library Council has just released a summer learning toolkit (in collaboration with the National Summer Learning Association) with a ton of suggestions on how to include discovery as well as literacy aspects into SLP programs. The toolkit is free and downloadable at the Urban Libraries Website.

Check out and download the brief toolkit here.

Hey, You SLP Champs!!

You are in the teeth of the SLP adventure! Keep up the great work!  "Is it all worth it," you might wonder.

Check out this research news from the State Library of Virginia on results of their recent study on the efficacy of summer reading programs for part of that answer:

Every summer, public libraries in every state offer a reading program. Anecdotal information shows that parents, children and teens love their summer reading program.  Staff at the Library of Virginia wanted to explore further the impact that library summer reading programs have on supporting summer learning and preventing summer reading loss. Partnering with the Virginia Department of Education, using a system that tracks what children are reading in the summer, and working with the expertise of an international research company, McREL, we conducted a study on the impact of the summer reading program in Virginia.

The conclusion of the study are:
Children and teens who attend the summer reading program offered by Virginia's public libraries perform better academically and experience greater gains in their academic performance than their nonparticipating peers. Summer library reading programs may serve as an alternative avenue to close the achievement gaps between minority groups and nonminority peers.

Participation in summer reading programs has a positive effect on student achievement outcomes by preventing learning loss even two years after participation.

An infographic of the study may be found at http://www.lva.virginia.gov/lib-edu//ldnd/srp-impact/srp_infographic.pdf

More information may be found at
http://www.lva.virginia.gov/lib-edu//ldnd/srp-impact/index.htm

Source: Enid Costley, Children's and Youth Services Consultant Library of Virginia, 800 East Broad   Street, Richmond, VA 23219  804.692.3765    enid.costley@lva.virginia.gov